Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called on the network to accelerate its efforts to become a true “world computer.” He warned that recent progress is not enough to fulfill Ethereum’s long-standing mission.
In an article shared on
According to Buterin, Ethereum has made major progress in the last year. Gas limits were increased, blob capacity increased, node software became more reliable, and zero-knowledge EVMs achieved key performance milestones. He said upgrades such as zkEVM and PeerDAS mark Ethereum’s biggest step toward becoming a fundamentally new type of blockchain.
Welcome to 2026! Milady is back.
Ethereum did a lot in 2025: gas limits increased, blob counts increased, node software quality improved, zkEVMs hit their performance milestones, and with zkEVM and PeerDAS, Ethereum took its biggest step towards becoming fundamentally…
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2026
Buterin nevertheless said the network faced a clear challenge. Ethereum, he argued, should not continue the currently popular narrative, whether token dollars or political memecoins. It should also not focus on filling block space simply to boost the ETH economy. Instead, he said Ethereum should stay focused on its core purpose: building a global computer that supports a more open and free Internet.
A Blockchain Built to Outlast Business and Politics
Buterin described Ethereum as a platform for applications that operate without fraud, censorship or third-party control. These apps, he said, should continue to work even if their original developers disappear or major internet services go down.
He emphasized that Ethereum-based applications should be resilient enough to survive hacks, business collapse and political changes, while protecting user privacy. Modern technology, he says, has moved in the opposite direction, turning everyday tools into subscription services controlled by centralized providers. Ethereum, he said, is supposed to be the alternative.
Scaling without sacrificing decentralization
To achieve this goal, Buterin said Ethereum must scale while remaining truly decentralized. This applies not only to the blockchain itself, but also to the software that runs it and the applications built on top of it.
Ethereum usage costs are at an all-time low.
Liquidity and capital velocity in low-risk DeFi (loans, stablecoins) on Ethereum has reached an all-time high.
Ethereum core developer shipping pace is at an all-time high.
Exciting times. pic.twitter.com/tJPCZvWo7m
– Token terminal 📊 (@tokenterminal) December 6, 2025
He acknowledged that progress was already being made, but said there was still more to do. Buterin nevertheless ended his message on an optimistic note, saying that Ethereum has the tools necessary to succeed if the community applies them well.
